Standing Engagement: Sparring Narration
Among beginners, there seems to be nothing more confusing than engaging with “stand-up”.
Part of the reason is a lack of emphasis on standing from most jiu-jitsu academies. The other part is the real lack of distinction in Jiu-jitsu takedowns.
What I mean here is that if you look at wrestling or Judo, each has its own parameters which make each sport unique. You can spot a wrestler from a mile away. The same is true for the judoka. Both have their unique mannerisms when it comes to engagement.
Jiu-jitsu is different though…
Jiu-jitsu, as a martial art, relies on its ability to get a fight to the ground. It doesn’t have a unique ruleset and rather, combines rules from both wrestling and Judo and also, as if things weren’t complicated enough, adds the extra factor of “guard pulling”.
Like it or not, guard pulling is another way of getting the fight to the ground and you have to be prepared for it from standing, just as you would prepare for avoiding leg grabs, foot sweeps and throws.
In my last paid email, I wrote about the importance of how to engage. (If you missed it, click here)
I talked specifically about facing your opponent, what to defend/attack and what to do IMMEDIATELY once you engage (OFF-BALANCE!).
In today’s email, I’m making a little sparring narration so that you can see exactly how I engage, bait and establish control over my opponent. I’m going to be placing special emphasis on foot sweeps because in my opinion, they’re going to be the lowest risk/highest reward attacks you’ll be able to use in your arsenal.
This will set up next week’s newsletter where I’ll be making a mini-instructional on the three most important foot sweeps and how to train and practice them.
Let’s Dive in!
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